This invention relates to recovery and reuse of water-based cleaners to remove contaminants.
Cleaning solutions are used in industrial manufacturing operations to degrease or clean contaminants from components, particularly metal components. For example, machined aircraft parts must be cleaned to prepare the aircraft part surfaces for further operations including, but not limited to, operations such as anodizing or plating.
Halogenated organic solvents, either as saturated vapors, boiling liquids, or as ambient-temperature liquids, are used currently as cleaning solutions.
Halogenated organic solvents are effective in cleaning machined parts but require special handling for personnel protection and in waste disposal for reasons of atmospheric contamination and surface water, ground water, and soil contamination. Further, environmental regulations require special waste disposal technologies. Residual depositions of organic solvents and solutions in the environment, in some cases, are the subject of studies to determine the extent of environmental degradation attributable to volatile emissions from degreasing operations, and groundwater and soil contamination. Volatile organic compound emissions are studied for their effect on smog in the lower atmosphere and ozone depletion in the stratosphere. Liquid organic compound discharges are studied for their effect on groundwater contamination and toxicity.